An evasive Charlie Hustle began his whirlwind publicity tour yesterday in a Manhattan hotel suite dressed in a Nike pullover that evoked his days with the Cincinnati Reds.

Rose implored the public and baseball’s power brokers to forgive him because of a 14-year overdue admission he bet on baseball games. Yet the confession raised more questions than Rose would answer.

“I won’t need a third chance,” Rose said during an exclusive 20-minute interview with Post reporters Michael Morrissey and Mike Vaccaro.

Yet Rose didn’t seem to convey the contrition or possess the understanding that might warrant a second chance.

The timing of the confession, which coincided with yesterday’s release of “Pete Rose: My Prison Without Bars,” was unfortunate as it hogged the spotlight from Hall of Fame electees Paul Molitor and Dennis Eckersley, something Rose apologized for.

That snafu, and the following Q and A, makes you wonder if baseball’s “Hit King” truly understands his damaging legacy.

*

POST: Pete, you apologized to your late father in the book, and then the subsequent apology to the public. Two guys, Fay Vincent and John Dowd, whom you have a long history with, there was no apology to them. And I’m just wondering: Is that a chapter in your life that’s over, or do you think that you owe them an apology in any way?

ROSE: I think what I’m trying to do is, I’m trying to put the whole thing behind me, OK? I’m not here to debate, did I bet in ’85, did I bet in ’86, did I bet in ’87? Hey, I made a mistake of betting and admitted betting on baseball.

And it was a tremendous load lifted off my shoulders. That load was there for a long time.

Then I had to thank Bud Selig, who 14 months ago – that’s how long it’s been since I’ve been in his office – so this is not something that I just did yesterday or last week or last month. This load has been taken off my shoulders today for the public, but it was taken off my shoulders 14 months ago for Bud Selig, see? So it was nice to be able to put in my words the way I would talk to people.

POST: You obviously grew up a baseball fan, from the crib almost. Fans grow up knowing about the Black Sox, talking about the tragedy of Shoeless Joe Jackson. What was your first recollection of that story? But also, when you first walk into a clubhouse, obviously a baseball player is told about (betting and Rule 21). That’s a part of the game that’s very serious. And like I said, you’re not the first tragic figure …

ROSE: Yeah, that was my mistake. I was aware of that sign on there. It’s one of those deals you just didn’t pay attention to. And I was wrong about that.

All I know about Joe Jackson is that he was a helluva baseball player, if you look at his statistics. I don’t know what he did, what he was accused of. I know what I did. I would rather just talk about what I did or what I didn’t do as opposed to what happened in 1919.

POST: I guess my point is, that’s such a thing that haunts the game still. There’s a reason why that rule is (put into play).

ROSE: You’re right about that. That rule was put in because of that. But I think it’s better off, I’m better served if perhaps what happened to me – which is a big negative – maybe we can use the negative as a positive.

Because I don’t think anybody in baseball today thinks about gambling. I don’t know if there is, but there probably is, because that’s just the way society is. I think you guys would agree that I got more than a slap on the wrist.

I mean, how would you like to [lose] $10 million (over the years from a managerial salary) and get suspended 14 years? I’m not trying to justify what I did, because I was wrong. But maybe we can use this negative as a positive in the future.

Hopefully people will understand how big a mistake it was I made and won’t go down that same path.

POST: Pete, in the book you mentioned the worst thing in your code as a man, I think you used the term “stool pigeon” or a “rat.” To rat on other people, you don’t do that. You live up to your mistakes and that’s it. But people want to know, if Pete Rose was gambling on baseball in a certain time, do you know if anybody else was?

ROSE: Anybody would love to manage a baseball team. And personally, I don’t think there’s no chance of what I did ever happening again. That’s a part of my life that I’m embarrassed about, that I’m sorry about, but will never surface again.

You have to remember, the last time I bet on a baseball game was 15 years ago. That’s a long time, 15 years ago. And that will never happen again.

The last time I made an illegal bet was 15 years ago. Now, if you’re going to ask me if ‘You still gamble?’ Well, I’m not gonna lie to you. I periodically go to the races, because I own a couple of racehorses. One last week at Hollywood Park.

POST: (Tommy Gioiosa) said you did, indeed, make bets from the clubhouse. And that’s a big contention.

ROSE: Well, regardless of what anybody says, I mean, I think the important thing is I’m here today to tell you I bet on baseball. OK? I’m not here to tell you I did it then, I did it here, I did it this, I did it that. We’re trying to put this behind us. And if you’re gonna say, ‘Well, did he do it in ’85, did he do it ’86, did he do it in ’88, did he do it in ’87, did he do it in ’90, did he do it in ’92?’ I don’t think that’s important.

I think the important thing is, I realize the big mistake I made and I’ve come forward to try to be as truthful as I can. And I can’t outlive these allegations that all of a sudden surface.

POST: At the end of the day, Pete, (maybe) the book sells wonderfully and everything you hope can happen to you in the public eye happens. And yet the result of this (maybe) is nothing changes. You may never (be inducted) in the Hall of Fame in your lifetime. Are you OK with that?

ROSE: You have to live with the cards that are dealt you. This book didn’t come out right now to try to persuade Bud Selig to reinstate me. Bud Selig knew what was in this book 14 months ago.

When I left Bud Selig’s office that day, I had real good vibrations about my future. And I still have positive … I’m a positive person. And I would hope Bud don’t make up his mind based on reading one book.

POST: Have you talked to psychologists since the gambling issues?

ROSE: I’ve talked to doctors. Let me explain something to you: When you’re on top of the world like I was in ’85 after I broke the record, then all of a sudden in ’89 everything is taken from you.

You lose a $1 million a year job, you lose all your respect and dignity. Everything like that, you have to say, let’s stop this freight train from going any further. What’s going on here? And then you start evaluating yourself. And I did that the same as everybody else.

I went to [Gamblers] Anonymous three or four times. I tried to understand what I was doing there. Listening to other people. We’re sitting in a circle, and this guy’s talking about stealing money to go do this or do that. Or getting up in the middle of the night to go (bet).

I said, jeez, what do I have in common with these people? I tried. I tried like heck. That kind of got me thinking, I don’t have the same kind of problems these people do. I had enough money. I didn’t gamble on baseball for money. I mean, you like to win. But it wasn’t the way I was trying to make a living.

It was just, I needed something else. I had stopped playing. I don’t need that today, but at that time I did. At that time I did.

POST: Pete, the book mentions that nobody has ever gotten off the banned list. And you said you hope to be the first. What makes you think simply the confession is going to be be enough?

ROSE: I think what I said – and people forget this when they make the statement – nobody from the banned list has ever applied for reinstatement. Now I can’t answer why.

I think someone, Ted Williams or somebody, did on behalf of Joe Jackson. I don’t even know the other guys who have been banned. But I do know none of the other guys who have actually been banned haven’t honestly asked for reinstatement. So that’s a big plus right there, the fact that they didn’t ask.

POST: The interesting thing for a lot of people, because you’ve mentioned more than once that if you had been a drug addict or an alcoholic or a wife beater, you’d have been given a second chance. The irony, I suppose, is the Hall of Fame class this year includes somebody who sought help for alcoholism in Dennis Eckersley, someone who had a drug problem at one time in Paul Molitor. They both mentioned during their speech, they sought help and wondered aloud [if you should have].

ROSE: It’s just one of those things – I’ve said this before, and I’m serious about this – I chose the wrong thing to do. As you know and as I know, baseball does not have a program for gamblers. Maybe that’s something baseball should take on. Those guys have my congratulations on making the Hall of Fame.

POST: Do you think if you had been allowed to continue unabated and unchecked that you might ultimately have gotten to the point where as a gambler (you) thought, ‘I know I’m not pitching my best guy today. I know I’m going against (Dwight) Gooden.’

ROSE: Let me explain something to you: I did the same thing whether I bet or not. And the same thing was, I always looked at managing as my obligation to the fans. And my obligation is to do anything to win.

I didn’t manage any differently whether I bet on the Reds or I didn’t. I went to the ballpark in the same way, managed the same way and used the pitchers the same way. That’s just something I would do.